Terong (Eggplant): Later after graduating with a degree, a masters, the job opportunities will be wide open for me, ha ha ha!!!

Crowd: Dumb kindergarten kid. You know don't you, we're all masters graduates, but we've been unemployed for several years!!!

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts that Indonesia's unemployment rate will reach 5 percent in 2025, the second-highest in Asia after China, which is projected to be 5.1 percent this year.

Based on the World Economic Outlook report for April 2025, the IMF noted a continuous rise in Indonesia's unemployment rate. In 2024 it was 4.9 percent, increasing to 5 percent this year, and is predicted to reach 5.1 percent in 2026.

According to Andalas University economist and lecturer Syafruddin Karimi, the projected increase in unemployment is due to the national economic structure's inability to absorb labour because of a mismatch between industry needs and workforce capacity.

"This is especially true in labour-intensive sectors", he was quoted as saying by Tempo on May 22.

If industrial policy is not reorganised so job creation aligns with growth in productive sectors, the unemployment rate will continue to rise even as the gross domestic product (GDP) grows.

In a press conference in early May, Labour Minister Yassierli said that the highest unemployment rate in Indonesia is found in the 19-24 age-group.

Vocational high school graduates recorded the highest unemployment rate, followed by senior high school, elementary school, diploma and university graduates. Yassierli also said that this is due to a mismatch between students and their chosen majors.